Handling the Pain
by ironheartwriter
Summary: What if Tom had turned his back on Mike when he needed help the most? Season 3 spoilers.


AN: Hey guys! So this is a little offshoot of my 'What If' oneshots. I had this idea, but I needed it to be a multichapter fic instead of a oneshot. I hope it is enjoyed, and yes, I am also still working on the other oneshots as well. I just needed to write this idea.

* * *

Mike exited the stairwell to the rooftop, his gun drawn. The sun blinded him for a moment, but his eyes easily adjusted. He searched this way and that, looking for any sign of Kyle or Daisy and Marisol, hoping that he wasn't too late. He saw nothing though, as he moved stealthily along the rooftop, checking every direction as he went. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a movement, but he was too late to react as a pole came down on his arm, knocking his gun out of his hands. He exclaimed in pain as Daisy struck him with the pole again and he moved back in an effort to put some distance between the two of them, the pole came down on him again and again and the next thing Mike knew, he was falling.

Mike grabbed the railing of the roof at the last moment, his heart racing as he looked down, _Holy shit, holy shit…._

"Help! Help!" He cried out, trying in vain to push himself back up, holding onto the railing with his right hand. He was alone up there though, and his heart sank as he realized it. So this was how it was going to end. "Help! Somebody help me!" Where was HRT? He knew Max was with them and that the building was supposed to be flooded with them. "HELP!"

Tom moved along the roof, hearing the yells. Was that Weston? Where the hell was he? It was then that he saw Mike's hand holding onto the railing and he felt a mixture of anger and satisfaction. Mike had slept with Max the night before, and neither one of them said a damn thing to him about it. Maybe it was justice. He approached the railing, and for a split second, he locked eyes with Mike, the other man pleading with him to help him up. Listening to the demon inside of him, Tom backed away as he heard the door to the roof open again, and Mike continued to scream.

Tom stood behind some of the equipment on the roof as he saw who had come onto the roof. It was Max. Of course it was, wasn't she always looking for Mike? She heard Mike's screams and ran to the edge of the roof.

Max's heart thundered against her ribcage as she leaned over the railing, "Mike, oh my god…." She fell to the surface of the roof and reached for his hand, but she knew, as her heart sank, that she wasn't strong enough to do it on her own, "Mike, hold on, please, hold on…. HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!"

Mike felt like his right arm was being pulled out of its socket. Seeing Max had been a relief, but where the hell had Tom gone? He had been there a minute ago. Why hadn't he helped him? There was no way Max could pull him up on her own, "Max, I can't hold on much longer."

Tears stung at Max's eyes as she heard what Mike said, "Mike, Mike, no. You need to hold on. Just hold on a little longer. This building is flooded with the FBI, someone will hear us." She turned her head, "Somebody! Anybody! Please, help!" She felt the tears sliding down her cheeks, she couldn't keep holding onto Mike. The weight of her body was too much for her, "Mike, please, please, hold on…."

Mike tried in vain to help Max pull him up. His foot couldn't find any purchase on the side of the building. Tears clouded his vision as he looked up at Max. A lump rose in his throat as he realized what this all meant, "Max, I can't…."

"NO!" Max yelled, shaking her head, though her arms screamed in protest the longer she held onto him, "Mike, you can't do this. You can't do this to me. You need to hold on, just another minute. Someone will find us, I know they will. We can do this, Mike, we can. Someone is going to find us, I promise…." She adjusted her hold slightly, trying to hold on better to his jacket, but she could see the hand on the railing starting to shift. If he lost hold, there was no way that she would be able to hold him. Where the _hell_ was everyone else?

"Max, listen to me," Mike said, struggling to keep a hold on the railing. He tried to move his hand slightly, but his hand was sweating, making it that much more difficult to hold on. "Look at me." When she did, he saw the tears falling from her eyes, "I'm sorry. For everything. I never meant to hurt you, Max. I love you, more than you'll ever know."

"Mike, NO!" Max shrieked as his hand slipped and the fabric of his jacket that she had been holding onto tore out of her hand. She closed her eyes as she watched Mike fall, hearing a loud thud moments later, "NO!" She shrieked, not daring to open her eyes. She moved away from the roof edge, realizing that she was still holding onto the sleeve of Mike's FBI jacket, "Oh, my god… oh, my god…." She pulled out her cell phone, hitting Ryan's number as she got to her feet. There was no way that had just happened. Mike hadn't just….

* * *

He was still breathing. How the hell was he still breathing? Max had never been more relieved to hear that someone was still breathing than she was at that moment. The roof was flooded with EMTs and FBI agents, Ryan in front of all of them. Max knew that Ryan was probably finding a way to blame himself for all of this, when Max knew that this couldn't possibly be his fault. Ryan had mentioned finding Kyle, so that meant it had to be Daisy who was responsible for this.

Max had tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at Mike as the EMTs prepared to move him, sliding a backboard under him carefully. He was bleeding steadily from the back of his head, but his skull somehow hadn't fractured. Mike had to be the luckiest person in the world that he had survived that fall. They weren't sure as to the extent of all his injuries, they would have to get him to the hospital for that, but Max just kept thinking that at least he was alive… for now.

Ryan drove them both to the hospital, neither of them saying anything. There was so much else that was going on, but at the moment, Mendez would take charge of the case. Max just kept hoping that Mike would be okay, that he would make it. He had to make it. The words he said to her before falling just kept ringing in her ears, making her cry harder. She should have been able to help him, somehow, she should have been able to pull him back up.

At the hospital, nobody would tell them anything. They weren't Mike's family, but they both knew Mike had no contact with his family after his father's death. They had a falling out after the funeral and Mike was on his own. That had been all the more reason for him to leave and hunt Mark. He had no one to hold onto, and even the feelings he had for Max hadn't been enough to keep him in New York. But really, Max knew that she and Ryan were all that Mike had at that point in his life.

Hours passed before Gwen appeared. At that point, both Max and Ryan were close to being kicked out of the hospital for pestering the staff so much. Max had never been so relieved to see Gwen in her life. She knew that Gwen wouldn't keep information about Mike from them, "Gwen, what's going on?"

"We placed Mike in an induced coma to help give his body some time to heal," Gwen said. She looked exhausted and harassed, as though she had been working nonstop since she arrived. "At the moment, we don't know the extent of his injuries. He was bleeding from the back of his head, but that was the easiest thing to take care of, honestly."

"There's something you're not saying, Gwen," Ryan said, knowing his girlfriend as well as he knew her. She had that look, the look of not wanting to give someone some bad news. "What's going on?"

Gwen inhaled slowly, "There's no response in his legs to any type of stimulation," She said in a soft tone. "It's too early to tell how bad it truly is. Once his body heals a bit, we'll be able to run more tests, but…."

"He's paralyzed?" Max choked out, tears once again starting to trail down her cheeks, "The fall paralyzed him?"

Gwen nodded, "At the moment, it seems like it's just from his waist down, because he's responding to stimulation of his hands. We won't know for sure until we take him out of the coma though."

"Can we see him?" Ryan asked, rubbing Max's shoulder as his niece cried silently. His heart ached for her. He knew that Mike and Max had grown apart, but it was clear to him that the feelings were still there.

"Of course, come on."

* * *

A week passed before Gwen told them that Mike was finally going to be brought out of the coma. In the end, it turned out that the paralysis was from his waist down. It was possible for him to recover, but it would take a good amount of physical therapy and determination on Mike's part. Max was dreading Mike being woken up, though. Learning that he was paralyzed was going to turn his world completely upside down. The only bright side was that at least he was alive. He had a long way to go recovery-wise, but he was alive.

Max had barely left the hospital the week that Mike had been out. She knew it wasn't like he was going to wake up, but at least he wasn't alone. She was exhausted, but so happy that they were finally waking Mike up. She couldn't imagine what was going to go through his mind when he woke up, and the fear of him learning about the paralysis…. She knew his entire world was about to be turned upside down.

The softest groan reached Max's ears as the drugs started to wear off. He was waking up. Mike was finally waking up. Her heart raced slightly as she stood up and walked over to him, taking his hand in both of hers. She inhaled slowly, "Mike?" She said in a soft, nearly inaudible tone. "Mike, can you hear me?"

Max felt a jolt pass through her as Mike's eyes opened, blinking a few times to adjust to the light. He groaned again, reaching for his eyes with his free hand, rubbing them gently, "Max… what happened? I thought I…."

He clearly remembered falling from the roof. He remembered feeling as though he was flying before his world went black. He had been dreaming such weird, vivid dreams… he was sure that his life had ended from what he was seeing.

"You didn't," Max said with a shake of her head, reaching to brush her fingers through his hair. She felt tears stinging her eyes. He was alive, he was looking at her and talking to her. She couldn't even vocalized how relieved that all made her feel. "You're okay, you're alive, you're going to recover…."

"What happened?" Mike asked, clearing his throat and looking around. "I shouldn't have survived that."

"But you did," Max said, her voice all choked. It seemed almost surreal that Mike was talking to her. After a week of sitting by his side, she was so happy that it was finally happening. "By some miracle you did."

Mike was silent for a few minutes, and Max realized that he was shifting. Her eyes widened slightly when she realized what he was doing. He was trying to make sure that everything was still working. She knew the moment that something clicked in Mike's mind that something was wrong. He suddenly let go of her hand, tearing the blankets off of his body so he could look at his legs, "Max…."

Max's voice was strained and high pitched as tears trailed down her cheeks, "Yeah?"

"I can't move my toes, I can't feel my feet," Mike said, looking up at her with wide, fearful eyes. He kept trying to force his legs to make some movement, any movement, "Max, why can't I…?"

Max swallowed hard, "I'm so sorry, Mike," She squeaked. She could all but hear the pain that Mike was experiencing at that moment. "I am so, so sorry…."

Max saw the realization pass through Mike as he leaned back against the pillows, rubbing his face, covering his eyes, "I'm paralyzed."


End file.
